Yesterday I wrote about my high school. (Mr. Miller Was My Math Teacher at Ner Israel) I went to a pretty well known yeshiva high school but this kind of media exposure for Ner Israel is not too common. Of course I was proud so I told my sister to check out the video and article.
Not to be outdone, my sister told me that her high school was also famous!
It seems that WNET, the New York PBS affiliate, has a segment called “Religion and Ethics. A few weeks back they did a piece on hateful gossip in schools. With the advent of the internet and specifically sites like Facebook, it has become so easy to say nasty things about others and leave a permanent record of the comments.
Cyber Abuse is what they call it. Saying things that are not nice on the internet about someone else can have a much more drastic and long term effect on the subject. Perhaps even worse than originally intended. The internet is a danger zone!
They talk a little bit about JuicyCampus which was one of the first and one of the most prolific sites for College students slander and gossip. It got shut down eventually and there is a new movement in its stead to try and promote good manners and ethics on the internet and limit evil speech about others.
The piece then moves from the extremely dangerous internet world of anonymous speech that could harm people’s lives to Manhattan High School for Girls. MHS is a Bais Yaakov style girl’s high school in Manhattan. My sisters attended MHS and I have heard really great things about the school. It might be the 2nd best girls high school in the world. Obviously the best is my father’s school, Ateres Bais Yaakov in Monsey.
At MHS, the girls learn about the harms of Lashon Hara (evil speech), work together to prevent and stop evil speech and care passionately about avoiding Lashon Hara. This is a stark contrast to the world of gossip that exists at high schools and Universities across the U.S.A. and has spawned shows like Gossip Girl.
Of course, there are times when it is permissible, in fact, even obligatory to say negative things about another person. The idea is to learn when and how to implement those exceptions. The best thing about a conscious effort to avoid speaking Lashon Hara is how it affects the way you speak by making you consider the value of your speech. Is it something that must be said? Or is it something better left unsaid?
The girls that are interviewed are very candid and perform very well in front of the camera. The message of the video is that we can all learn from MHS and the Jewish approach to Lashon Hara. I can only reiterate what a great message that is and congratulate MHS for truly being a light unto the nations.
For a clearer video than the video below and a transcript click here. (recommended)
Poor quality youtube video below: (only if you are really lazy)
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